Concerts

Electronic

A Benefit Concert for the Vietnam fund was held in the University's Music Room last week. The programme was a blend of poetry and electronic music—the effect was both startling and explicit.

Of the two recordings the one most directly concerned with the Vietnam theme was simply called Poem in the Time of War. It was sung (as in the traditional manner) by Vietnamese student Miss Dung against an electronic-setting by Douglas Lilburn.

The composer has described it as "an abstract piece" stark musical effects were more graphic than written or but the effect of Miss Dung's plaintive voice and the spoken English. This piece depicted the futility of war and its meaningless destruction of the civilian and was set in contrast to Death of a Bullfighter.

The electronic music for the latter was composed by Spanish Roberto Gerhard, around a poem by Garcia Lorca. The aim of both men was to describe the brilliance of lgnacio the famed bull-fighter.

The music and words expressed grief and the violence of his death but there was also an element of pride and splendour that was completely absent from the empty death of the Vietnamese civilian as protrayed in Poem in the Time of War.

The concert was sponsored by the Music Society. The funds will go via Red Cross to civilians suffering in Vietnam. Students have already been working for some time in support of the project.